Elephant “fat farm” plans to open in Northern California

Donna in the African elephant is seen in her enclosure at the Oakland Zoo on Friday, May 10, 2013. (Paul Chinn/The Chronicle)

Whether they know it or not, elephants in zoo captivity are struggling to keep their weight down. A recent study found that three-fourths of the elephants in North American zoos are overweight, and in response, a foundation in Northern California plans to create an elephant “fat farm” to combat obesity.

Led by the Ndovo Foundation, created by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Roger McNamee, the overweight elephants will reside in an open-air, 4,900-acre preserve in Tehama County in Northern California, according to the Wall Street Journal.

With staff from the Oakland Zoo running the preserve, the elephants will have an abundance of space to exercise and be fed fiber-rich plants.

The plan for an elephant preserve falls in line with a larger trend in elephant husbandry to provide the captive animals more space to roam. At the Oakland Zoo, for example, caretakers spread food around in the 6-acre enclosure so that the elephants work to get their food and to replicate how elephants would forage food in the wild. With routine weigh-ins, the elephants are monitored closely to skim the fat.

The elephant preserve will initially start with three to five elephants and let the group grow into a “near-wild” herd of 12 to 15 elephants over the next two decades. Tehama County officials have yet to approve the project. The Ndovo Foundation is in the final stages of purchasing a ranch.